Western Fence Lizard –
I’ve been catching this species of lizard since I was little. They are fast, but if you follow them around a bit they will tire out and you can catch them. If the lizard would just stay still you would never see it or catch it because they have great natural camouflage.
The western fence lizard eats ants and small insects. I see them just about year round, usually in the shade. Lizards are reptiles and so are cold-blooded, which means they have to regulate their body temperature with the sun or by burrowing down away from the cold.
These lizards have a neat trick they play on predators that try and eat them like hawks, bobcats and coyotes. If the predator only grabs their tail – it will pop right off in their claw or paw! Kind of like a flag in flag football – the lizard runs off just fine and grows a new one. Ha-ha, touchdown.
